Izod Nation

The renaming of the former Continental Airlines Arena in the New Jersey Meadowlands as the Izod Center got me thinking about the virtues using public property to raise money to reduce taxes.

What better way to memorialize your community than with places bearing the names of such giants of commerce as Qwest with Qwest Field? Of course, there can be some awkward moments, as the one that led to the renaming of Houston’s Enron Field as Minute Maid Park. But that’s business.

It’s truly a shame that Hubert Humphrey Dome Metrodome in Minneapolis wasn’t renamed the 3M Dome. Hubert Humphrey may have spearheaded the changing attitude about civil rights. But 3M pioneered our ability to leave messages with Post-It notes.

And in a day when the tax burden is too high, it seems to me that we have yet to fully exploit the advertising value of our public facilities and prosperities. Once we do, we will laugh at those days when we simply couldn’t grab that last buck.

Think about it. Marriott’s Statue of Liberty.
“Give me your poor, your tired, yearning to breathe free? If you’re tired, and even if you’re poor, you can breathe freely and relax with our special weekend rates.”

Then there’s Prudential Insurance’s Gettysburg Battlefield.

“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. But before death visits your family, protect your possessions and your loved ones.”

Don’t forget to visit Caterpillar’s Grand Canyon.

“Nature can dig deep. But think how much she could have done with a Caterpillar Wheel-Loader."

PSE&G’s Niagara Falls (so we have to split the money with the Canadians.)—“We keep it running.”

Exxon’s Alamo—“Remember the Alamo. Remember to fill up with Exxon.”

Sears' Valley Forge—“Don’t get left out in the cold. Stay warm with a Sears HomePro Furnace.”

Bank of America’s Sequoia National Forest. “Towering over the others.”

Maybe we can replace the eagle with the Izod Alligator.